CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Amy Goodman, journalist and spokeswoman for Democracy Now!, spoke at Centennial Hall last night as part of an 80-city tour promoting the need for easy access to independent and diverse sources of news and information.

1,100 students hear controversial radio host talk politics

More than 1,100 students flocked to Centennial Hall last night, to see guest speaker Amy Goodman, radio host for Democracy Now!

Crowds lined up in front of the box office almost two hours before the 7:00 p.m. speech about politics and the ills of mainstream media coverage.

Controversial among both Democrats and Republicans, Goodman has been criticized for her condemnation of mainstream media outlets.

"It is wonderful to be here to celebrate the sanctuaries of dissent," Goodman said to the crowd, who welcomed her with a standing ovation. "Independent media is in a time of war and selections, when we need peace and elections."

Members of the audience booed and hissed as Goodman described the affiliation of corporate media groups with government, and their selection of news coverage.

"I've been listening to (Goodman) for a couple of years now," said Jonah Dunham, aerospace and mechanical engineering graduate student.

"Whenever I watch cable news I don't get everything I want to hear ... I like to get a different news source to be informed," Dunham said.

Goodman said too often, American dissent against the government and currently, the war in Iraq, is not acknowledged by mainstream media. Instead, Goodman said corporate media is choosing to cover only one side of the news, which is usually in accordance with government propaganda.

"As journalists, we are supposed to be the check and balance on government," Goodman said. As citizens, she said we must "demand the media allow the dissent to be heard."

Goodman condemned and warned corporate media of the responsibilities of reporting the truth as she gave the example of General Wesley Clarke who is on CNN's payroll as a military analyst.

Goodman asked, "Why are peace activists not on the payroll?" and are why military analysts the only ones consulted about warfare, when a doctor could be equally, if not more, effective in describing the devastating effects of chemical weapons?

"Media is among the most powerful institutions on Earth ... instead of seeing the casualties of war we see a war video game - romanticized pictures of soldiers against sunsets," Goodman said.

Media in Europe, Africa and the Middle East show the casualties of war, and if the mainstream media subjected Americans to such pictures for one week, the war would be re-evaluated, Goodman said.

Goodman's new book, "Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers and the Media That Love Them" focuses on the struggle of independent media groups striving to report silenced voices around the world.

The book cites examples of arrests, profiling, and censorship of U.S. citizens, such as a man arrested for protesting in an area not designated as a "free speech zone."

"The book has been a testament to the hunger of independent voices ... it is a message to the publishers of this country that when a book like this succeeds, it makes space for another book that might contrast with conservative imprints," Goodman said.

After the lecture, Goodman signed books in the lobby and spoke individually with audience members about their own concerns and efforts to maintain independent media.

"I think she's an excellent speaker. She brought up really important points about the need for dissenting viewpoints. The whole world gets the wrong idea of the American population from our one-sided media," said Sam Day, molecular and cellular biology senior.

Goodman spoke last year at Centennial Hall free of charge, with tickets eventually running out. This year, event sponsors - television network Access Tucson and radio station KXCI - charged $17 a ticket, giving students a $5 discount.

"We need to pay a price to support independent media," said Larry Bruce, general manager of KXCI. Bruce said that because of recent budget cuts, independent media such as Access Tucson have suffered financially, and without community support, would eventually become non-existent.